So the rest of the transformation didn’t go to plan. I was unwell then missed a few sessions for various reasons. Not great but couldn’t be helped. It meant though that the transformation didn’t happen. I’m still pretty much where I was before hand. 

I took a break over Christmas. I’ve stopped tracking food and have been away so haven’t attended PT sessions. In fact for the entire of Christmas week I did no exercise other than walking. My first workout back was yesterday and tougher than it should’ve been! Still need to get going again. 

The new year is dawning and it feels like a good time to start fresh. I got a lovely new juicer for Christmas (thanks to my mummy) so I’m gonna try hard to get in my fruit and veggie allowance. I know there will be less fibre that way but it’s a step in the right direction.  

I’m also looking at maybe cutting out sugar – or refined sugar at least. It’s gonna be tricky but I think it’ll be good for me. It will at least help get me back on track and give me an idea of how much sugar I eat (I suspect quite a lot!). 

I’ve also enrolled in a set of webinars led by Gillian Riley which will hopefully help me get a handle on my emotional eating again as it has got a bit out of control again. 

First session back at PT (with weigh in) isn’t till Wednesday so I have a little time to try to shift a bit of the Christmas weight and get back into it all. Must just finish off the chocolate first though 😜

At the start of the week I was struggling. Monday’s session was tough. Partly due to the lack of energy and motivation that accompanied the hormone fog. And partly I think due to eating a lot less protein that day. 

I’ve been careful to eat more protein and try to hit my macro goals. Wednesdays sessions was lots better. Still tough but I didn’t feel like I was dying! My recovery time is also finally getting better. I’m still surprised at how long it takes to get fully better and regain aerobic fitness levels after an illness. Finally back there I think. Will find out in a few hours when I do my HIIT. 

Food has been better this week so far. I’ve added extra protein to breakfast which is helping and been sticking to grains just once a day to try to limit bloating. The weigh in on Monday will show if it’s helped. 

Next thing to think about is my winter wardrobe. I’m over a dress-size smaller than last year and many items of clothing I own no longer fit. I’m currently just adapting my summer wardrobe with extra cardigans but is getting chilly now. Any suggestions would be welcome! 

Little late with this post as it’s been a hectic week. 

Week 4 went fine. I missed my extra HIIT workout as I didn’t get enough sleep over the weekend. But I managed to lose a little (less than a pound). My measurements were up a little again but I think it’s due to the fog of hormones that is also affecting my motivation. I’ve had some fairly severe mood swings this week which has been tough. 

So close now to getting into single figures in the 10s. Must keep pushing!!

Not much to say this week. Energy levels are finally returning so I did an extra HIIT workout. Aerobic fitness has dropped but it’s getting back to where it used to be. 

I noticed mid-week that I’d strayed into high carb low protein – probably due to the cold weather which always makes me crave carbs and sleep. So I’m started making a concerted effort to get my protein levels back up. This is going well. I’m making sure I hit at least 90g protein a day. Still working my way back into the healthy eating groove but slowly getting there. 

Weight-wise: I am down another pound this week. Was hoping for more but clearly my food wasn’t quite right. One more to go before I get back to my lowest weight since I started training again. 

Measurements: waist and lower belly were both down (yay!). Again not as much as I’d hoped for but still good. Down is always good! I think a full body measure will be in order when I get below my previous lowest weight. That may coincide nicely with my anniversary at Lift365. It will be a year later this month!!! How time flies when you’re having fun 😄🏋🏻 

Food: protein levels are up again and I’m doing well on the veg count most days. I’ve reintroduced a little wheat just for variety. Hopefully it will be fine but if my tummy starts complaining then I’ll cut back again. I need to be careful on study days at home as I tend to snack more and walk less. 

All in though I’m making progress again and feel like I’m finally moving out of my recent rut. 

This week has been better. I’ve finally managed to shift my cold and I’m feeling a lot better. My PT sessions were harder than normal as I think I was still recovering but I managed to fit in an extra HIIT session yesterday so I’m feeling good. It was tougher than I remember though. Always saddens me how quickly cardio fitness declines. 

Food wise I didn’t do too bad. I can do better and need to be careful of lazy lunches. I’ve not been prepping lunches everyday so have been getting food at work and it never fits my macros or calories. Will try to plan better this week. I’m gonna get the slow cooker out again now it’s getting cooler. That should help with meal prep. Must add more veggies too as I’m still not great at that. 

So this week I’m down 1 lb (yay!). Back in the 10s 😄. Waist measure is a little misleading as I think my magic leggings last week were the support kind. So waist measurement appears to be up again but that’s probably due to less supportive leggings this week. Still my lower tummy measure is down half an inch which is great! Slowly going back in the right direction. 

This week I’m gonna try and lose another 1-2 lbs to get to back where I was before illness. Rash plans to do a full body measure next Monday too which will be interesting. We usually do weekly weight and tummy measures. But not done a full body in a while. 

The new training programme is going well although I’m not loving the power plate squat pulses!! I did however have lots more fun than I was supposed to doing ball slams haha. I found a point on the gym floor that seems to allow the ball to bounce really well. Reps are always easier when it’s a game 😄🏋🏻‍♀️

I’ve been asked by a few friends why I’m doing all this training. Do I have a goal? When will I stop? What’s the point?!

It’s something I’ve thought a little about but only in passing. I’m actually enjoying not having a goal. I’ve always had something to aim for before. There’s always been an event – usually a race – that marked the finish line. Then I could stop. But for me this training is just the start of a new lifestyle and it’s fun. I have no plans to stop completely. I will probably ease up a little once I’m down to a healthy and happy weight but I currently don’t know what that weight is. 

I know most people have a number in their minds, either on the scales or as a dress size. But my aim is to get to a point where I feel comfortable and happy, where Drs tell me I’m healthy and that I can maintain. That may change as time goes on. I may decide to see just how lean I can get but I honestly don’t think I have the discipline to see it through. That kind of training requires a lot of planning and control. But it could be fun to enter a competition at the end before bouncing back to a more manageable weight. 

There’s a long way yet to go so I’ve got plenty of time to think about it. 

Today was my weekly weigh-in with Rash at Lift365. I do check my weigh over the week with scales at home but the official weigh-in is always on Mondays just before my session. 

Today was the end of the first week of my 8 week pre-Christmas transformation. It could’ve been better but it wasn’t. I have stayed the same weight wise (still 11st). On the plus side though I have lost over an inch from my waist!! This may be partly due to shiny new leggings (they’re long ones for winter). I suspect that the waist band is somewhat ‘supportive’ which is probably why my measurements dropped so much. Either way though not too bad considering I’ve not been well. 

My cold is now mostly gone. Although I’m not entirely back to 100% if tonight’s session is anything to go by. Hopefully a little more rest and I’ll be back better than new. I hope to be well enough by mid-week to get back to my additional workouts and introduce some HIIT back into my week. We do some HIIT at the gym but i have been doing extra on my own to help keep my activity up and allow me to eat a little more 😄 (it’s all about the food!). 

Will update with progress next week and maybe even scare you all with some photos! 

It’s been a rough week. I’ve tried to be better with food but it’s difficult to get back into healthy eating habits. Not helped by being unwell and away on a course. Always more difficult to eat healthy when eating out. 

First weigh-in is tomorrow and I doubt I’ve lost anything. I may even have put on weight. Never mind. Will try harder from tomorrow. My cold has almost gone now so hopefully I’ll be back to full training strength tomorrow. That means at least 1 HIIT session next week! That should help. 

7 weeks left to get it right!! If I win for 2lbs a week then I could lose a whole stone before Christmas! That would be amazing!! 

As some of you may know I’ve been feeling a little stuck lately. I can’t seem to get back into the weight loss/fat loss groove. My fitness is still increasing but my measurements seem to be hovering around the same point. 

My PTs (Lift365) have recently started an 8 week pre-Christmas transformation for some of their online clients. This seemed like a good opportunity for me to refocus on my food so I am jumping on the band wagon. Or at least that was the intention. They started week 1 last week but sadly I was unwell so had to postpone. I’m starting this week though and will follow along just a week behind. 

So the plan for me is to refocus on my food and cut back on those bad habits that have snuck back into my diet. I need to get back to proper food prep too as I’ve been a little lazy with that lately. I’ve decided to cut my calories too so I’ll be back down to averaging 1400 a day. That seemed to work for me before and was easy enough to maintain. I wasn’t overly hungry or tired on it which is good. 

Training-wise, I’ve just started a new program at Lift365 which will be a bit more HIIT and fat burning. I’ll also be adding back my own home workouts 1-2 HIIT/cardio sessions a week and hopefully 1 yoga session if I can find the time. 

My weight has crept up a little over the last few weeks so I’m currently at 11st and 36in on belly button. I’ll try to update you on these measurements over the coming weeks. Let’s see if I can get under 10st7 by my anniversary with Lift365 at the end of November 😊 always good to have a goal. 

The weight loss journey is continuing. Slowly and with a few minor set backs but it is continuing. Sadly the list of foods I can eat without ill effect is getting rather short, particularly in the carbs section. Basically I’m down to quinoa, oats and potatoes. But I guess that’s ok. I suspect that dairy will be the next thing to go since my skins has flared up and my tummy’s been a bit unhappy lately. The trouble there is that dairy is one of y main sources of protein and my main breakfast food. Without it I have no idea what to eat in the mornings or how to keep my protein levels up. I’ll have to look into it. But it’s a worry. 

On the plus side though I’ve hit a number of PBs at the gym. My weights have all been going up lately. And I feel fitter on all exercises. Most notably are the following:

• heavy leg press – 140kg
• Single leg press – 50kg
• Hip thrust – 90kg and
• Stiff leg dead lift is now at 20 or 30 kg (I think – not counting the bar)

That’s all really good! Especially with the heat lately. I’ve not been sleeping well cause the flats too hot and it’s really noisy with the windows open. 

I think the extra workouts have helped too. I’m now consistently (for the last month or so) been doing at leat one but most 2 HIIT sessions a week on top of my 2 sessions a week at the gym with Rash. I’m trying to fit in yoga on another day cause everything is feeling a bit tight but it’s tricky with all the uni work and work-work I have to do too. Hopefully after this weekend once I’ve got my uni assignments in I can concentrate on fitting more stuff in and working out my food. 

Food wise (other than the intolerances) I’m doing ok. I’m mostly hitting my calories and my protein is always at least 100g (good for me). The problem is that my fibre and fat intake is low but carbs and sugar are high. Carbs very high in fact. I think cutting back there will help with the bloating so that’s good. But I’m not sure how to get fats up without sugar and without any more dairy. I will have to look at it all properly next week. For now I’m gonna concentrate on not snacking while I study 😊  3 more pounds to go before my birthday and I’ll feel good.